Caerphilly County Borough was well represented at the London Marathon on Sunday April 23, as months of hard work, training and preparation paid off for local heroes in the sun-soaked capital.
The 2017 London Marathon saw a record 40,382 runners attempt the 26.2 mile route, topping last year’s previous high.
Runners were cheered on by over 800,000 supporters, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
Bethan Rees, of Caerphilly Runners, completed the marathon in five hours 15 minutes, raising over £3,000 for Tenovus, while Steve Lane raised £2,800 in aid of the Stroke Association, finishing in a fantastic three hours 27 minutes.
Steve, from Croespenmaen, was fundraising after the former chairman of his club, Islwyn Runners, suffered a stroke last year aged 39.
Richard Bushell raised over £700 for children’s hospital, Noah’s Ark, with Cardiff Triathletes, and posted a time of three hours 27 minutes made all the more impressive after he suffered from scarlet fever just 12 days prior to the event.
Laurence Pole, of Pontypridd Roadents was running his third marathon, and agonisingly came within ten seconds of meeting his target of finishing in under three hours, while Si?n Johnson, from Oakdale, finished her debut marathon in six hours three minutes.
Islwyn MP, Chris Evans, was one of 16 Members of Parliament to compete, and crossed the line in four hours and 20 minutes, while raising over £5,000 for Contact a Family, a charity for families with disabled children.
Caerphilly-born TV presenter, Matt Johnson, raised close to £2,400 for Macmillan Cancer Support, and said: “Cancer has affected people that I love far too often recently and this marathon is just something small that I can do to feel like I’m doing something to support them in their time of need.”
We put out a call for residents to get in touch with their pictures, causes and times, and were inundated with inspirational stories and impressive feats.
Everyone at Caerphilly Observer would like to say a big congratulations to all those who took part.
Well done to all for their tremendous efforts – many charities have benefited from their success !